Man accused of hitting daughter with pipe

A 39-year-old Maricopa man was arrested for child abuse and threatening domestic violence after allegedly striking his daughter numerous times in the legs with a pipe.

The saga began Feb. 20, when the daughter allegedly invited a juvenile male friend over to the house on West Barcelona Drive in Maricopa without permission about 3 p.m., according to the Maricopa Police Department’s statement of probable cause.

The girl’s father caught the boy in her room and kicked him out of the residence, according to the report.

“While the juvenile male was being kicked out of the residence, [the father] slapped [the daughter] across the face,” the report states. “Once the juvenile male left the premises, [the father] went to the garage, obtained a PVC pipe and approached [the daughter]. She was struck numerous times on the side of the knee, the back of the thigh and on her rear-end by the PVC pipe.”

According to the report, the girl’s mother grabbed the pipe and said it was enough.

“After the last hit, she fell to the ground and her dad got on top of her and started strangling her, with two hands around her throat at the time,” the probable cause statement reads. “[The father] then got up and [the mother] reported he kicked her on the back of the leg.”

The girl was sent to her bedroom, “and [the father] came in and broke her cellphone. [The daughter] reported [the father] saying if she tells anyone she is going to get it worse the next time and made comments about killing her,” the probable cause statement reads.

The girl was not interviewed about the attack until Feb. 25, five days later, according to the probable cause statement.

“A medical forensic exam was completed where large hematomas were observed on [the girl’s] legs, rear-end and thigh and bruises on her arms and lower leg,” according to the report.

The Department of Child Safety was contacted and reportedly took custody of the girl.

On Feb. 25, at 8:48 p.m., the father was arrested at his residence, taken to the Maricopa Police Department and informed of his Miranda Rights. He was transported to the Pinal County Jail and booked.